NASM proctored vs Non-proctored Level 0 vs Level 1 Personal Training Certifications

Unlock the mysteries of NASM's proctored versus non-proctored exams with the guidance of our special guest, NASM Ashley, and the insights from episode 101 of the Show Up Fitness Podcast. We're celebrating not just a milestone episode but also the heart of what it means to be an elite personal trainer. Ashley, a leader in the NASM women's community, and I dissect the true value of fitness certifications, revealing which ones carry weight in gyms and how to choose a program that truly hones your abilities. You'll learn the importance of not just collecting certificates, but acquiring the skills that matter when you're on the gym floor, facing a diverse range of client needs.

Peeling back the curtain on the fitness industry, we discuss how to transcend the typical trainer mold and adopt a level of professionalism that sets you apart. From networking with medical experts to obtaining credible credentials, this episode is a treasure trove of strategies to elevate your career. The conversation takes a turn towards the importance of passion and practical know-how; I'll share real-life examples of how these elements have been pivotal in the success stories within our Show Up Fitness community. This chat is not merely about the how-to's; it's a deeper look into the transformative journey of becoming a personal trainer who makes a genuine impact.

Rounding out our centenary-plus-one episode, the spotlight shines on the human aspect of our profession with insights from Ashley's experiences. We tackle the sometimes convoluted landscape of the fitness industry, focusing on how to simplify your approach and truly connect with clients. This episode is an invitation to reflect on your career, whether you're just starting out or looking to redefine your path, offering the encouragement and practical advice you need to flourish as a personal trainer dedicated to the well-being and goals of those you serve. Join us for a session that promises to enrich your practice and ignite your passion for this dynamic field.

Want to ask us a question? Email email info@showupfitness.com with the subject line PODCAST QUESTION to get your question answered live on the show!

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome to the Show Up Fitness Podcast, where great personal trainers are made. We are changing the fitness industry one qualified trainer at a time, with our in-person and online personal training certification. If you want to become an elite personal trainer, head on over to showupfitnesscom. Also, make sure to check out my book how to Become a Successful Personal Trainer. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review. Have a great day and keep showing up. Howdy everybody, and welcome back to the Show Up Fitness Podcast. Today is episode 101. We are in the triple digits, excited to have Miss Nashley oh sorry, I mean Ashley here. I gave her that nickname before the call because she's NASM Ashley. How are we doing today?

Speaker 2: 0:48

Doing awesome. Chris, Thank you for having me.

Speaker 1: 0:51

Speaking of awesome, you've done a great job of growing your NASM women's group. Congrats on that. Almost a thousand people in there. It's not just isolated to women, but you looked at the market and there wasn't any women's groups out there, so it was a great opportunity to help people navigate through the National Academy of Spectacular Marketing, and that's what we're going to chat about today, with passing your NASM and a common question that you get what is it around the exam?

Speaker 2: 1:22

Well, thank you so much. I you know, speaking of that group, I I didn't find anybody else out there that was like me, but I knew that if I was struggling to get past chapter five after six months of studying, there had to be other people out there like me. So starting the group has been amazing, because there's a lot of like-minded people in there that want to do their careers a solid by taking it to the next level, and so we have a lot of conversations about that. And then one of the number one things that they ask, since NASM rolled this out, is what's the difference between the proctored and the non proctored exams?

Speaker 2: 1:59

Because they have multiple certifications and if you get a bundle, an elite bundle like I did, then some are proctored, some are non-proctored, some, you know, they advertise to you to get the non-proctored certificate and people are confused by that because they don't know which ones the gym are going to accept and which ones they won't, and they're pushing it with. You know these certifications that are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of dollars. But what's the difference? You know, and so I have that conversation often. But what's the difference for you, chris? Like, what do you know about the proctored versus unproctored?

Speaker 1: 2:37

So I don't work for NASM never have. I have nothing except positive things to say about them as a great company. They have coined the term ubiquity and in my two cents I would say, similar to McDonald's has cornered the fast food market, they have cornered the fitness market. So when people think, go onto a forum, how do I become a trainer, nassim, nassim, nassim, that's awesome, that's ubiquity and they've done an amazing job at doing that and you have to give them kudos. I worked for a school for six months and I taught their material and I would teach students how to pass this test because I went through the material with a degree in kinesiology background in strength and conditioning, and I went to the number one kinesiology program in the world University of Connecticut and I would look at this with my professors and we would laugh and say what the fuck is this? And they would be like I don't know, man, this is, you know, it's not our world. The NSCA, ecsm they are nonprofit organizations. They have journals, they're actually trying to change the fitness landscape, whereas there's other level zero certifications and that's a term that I coined recently with the VP at Equinox Level zero you take a test, you don't actually learn how to program. You don't know how to articulate programming or assess people. You have a very, very low success rate of training your passion for fitness in their career less than 10%. And that's what I talked about and you can see it in my book behind you how to become a successful personal trainer 90% of textbook level. Zero trainers quit within the first year. And when you take a step back and you look at, well, why is that? We're the only career that I'm aware of that you literally do nothing with what's the career demands. And I had a client this morning and I took him through a warmup and we were bench press and I spotted him. We did 185 three by three. That was roughly 90% as one rep max. I knew when to spot him appropriately, allow the best amount of rest for this individual, how to do a circuit that was optimal for his goals. And we're having a conversation and not once did he ever question paying me $250 per hour and that's what I charge and I've been doing this for 20 plus years and this isn't to toot my own horn, but when you're confident, people are going to invest in your value.

Speaker 1: 4:56

And when you look at these two exams, you have one where you have a person from another country who's going to. This was during COVID, at least they're going to watch you take the exam. But now you got to go into a facility and I think it's Pearson is the third body. You got to go in there do like a little x-ray. Like you go to the airport, can't have anything on you, and then you take your 120 questions and then the non-proctors. You do it at home and you have the textbook in front of you. Maybe you got some buddies, you're drinking beer and you're going through and you're taking this exam. That's literally the difference between the two.

Speaker 1: 5:26

So when people ask me which one should I get? Why should you get this, I always ask who's paying for it, because a lot of people reach out and say my wife got it for me on Christmas. I said, awesome, take the easier one. That's going to be the non-proctored one. And if you can't get a refund, then get a guide. Like we have classes on Thursday where you can ask questions to you. We have our study guide and then you can focus on what you will need to pass it ASAP. So then you can focus on becoming a level one. I mean this women's group that you have, ashley Nashley, sorry. What would you say is the average age in there?

Speaker 1: 6:04

Probably middle age anywhere from 35 to 40. So let's pretend like these individuals are beginners and you have them in front of you. One like a perfect little happy medium. 35 years old, she wants to lose weight. Stereotypically, most women want to grow their glutes, work on their tummy. They don't want a six pack, but they want to be nice and flat. Toned arms, strong confidence. Still a little intimidated of lifting weights, so probably more body weight focused. What would that program look like?

Speaker 2: 6:29

Well, obviously it would be based on their goals and what I can see that they can move and do, but it would probably be something like squats, then moving on to pushups and some sort of trainer engaged ab exercise, maybe a plank, and do that for three rounds. Then after that I would take them through some sort of hinge pattern, maybe dumbbell, rdls. Stop, stop talking.

Speaker 1: 6:53

I love that scene in the movie Wedding Crashers. Shut your mouth when you're talking to me, that's right. I'm just joking, but do you have to do that on the NASM exam?

Speaker 2: 7:03

No no.

Speaker 1: 7:04

There's no articulation of that, and we have in-person and we also have online for our certification, and we recently partnered with Lifetime all 170 gyms and we're on our seminar tour right now. We're going to be in Sacramento, chicago, dallas, austin, miami, dc, new York, and when we are there, one of the things that we're going to be doing is helping people design programs just like this where they're able to talk through it, and I was recently at our in-person in Santa Monica and having our test. The individual was going through the program and she did something that I was curious about. So I asked her and I said, rachel, why did you do this exercise at that spot? And then she talked through it. I said, awesome, and that's exactly what a trainer should be able to do. It's not necessarily right or wrong, it's.

Speaker 1: 7:54

Can you critically think through a problem, not regurgitate a total body squat, curl press on a stability ball? They want to do stability ball press and stability ball row. They want to do a stability ball press and stability ball row. They want to do a single leg scaption. You have to do stability because, well, that's outdated, but you don't learn that in the platform for NASA and the OPT model, you learn to regurgitate this information. And it's again the same with other associations as well ACE, issa these certifications don't teach you the why behind it. And that's why so many trainers fail. It's because when you are in the interview process, I've been that interviewer and I will ask you stop, my shoulder hurts, change it up. Can I have a few minutes to think about it? No, you fucking can't, because you're not going to have that with your client. And if you can't confidently pivot on the spot, then why the hell would that client want to pay you 125, 200, $300 per hour? And that's exactly why so many trainers are afraid of this industry is because they get their certification one, two, three and four and they think they're ready to go out there and help people, but what they ultimately start doing is scaring people. And then you get the notorious oh I actually I don't have enough money to work with you, I don't have enough time, I need to talk to my significant other. Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. You didn't explain the value and why they should work with you. So the question always needs to be why? Why are you going to get ACE? So the question always needs to be why, why are you going to get ACE, issa, nasm, whatever, what is it going to do for your career? If there's an opportunity for you, great. If you can't get a refund, pass it as quickly as you can. So then that opportunity does present itself and grows into a bigger opportunity.

Speaker 1: 9:40

But you shouldn't be thinking this is the beauty of the marketing machine. They realize that there's no accountability across accreditation. Accreditation is an absolute bullshit term. All it means is that you spend a lot of money, like hundreds of thousands of dollars, to get a gold star. But could you imagine going to the DMV, you get your license and they're like okay, how would you like a special star for $50,000? And you go oh my God, I really want that. It does nothing for you, it's just a pretty little star. So when you go to these other organizations, they say things like oh, we're accredited. Ask further what does accreditation mean? Do you actually know what it means? And we've gone through that process. We're going through it.

Speaker 2: 10:54

It takes numerous years and it's just a compliance thing. Yeah, it's there to make sure that when you go to the testing site or the testing process itself is going to be duplicatable and fair, meaning the test, the scoring, is fair. But you know, you, if you don't know anatomy, you're not going to be able to tell the difference between those wonky questions that aren't actually based on true science and anatomy. Miami and I've been taking the online on-demand show up fitness program for a while now and I learned more in the first week than I did six months trying to get through the 800 plus page book and you have to ask yourself why.

Speaker 1: 11:14

I have people that want to work at specific gyms and they'll say should I get my NASA? I said again that shouldn't be the first thing. You need to find the location you want to work. If you want to work at home, you need to be able to confidently assess people safely and to provide a workout that's going to be geared towards their goals, whether they're beginner, intermediate or advanced. So there's no certification that is going to be superior with those level zeros. If you just want that for fun, great. But if you want a confident ability to do that, you need something that's going to give you the tools to be able to deliver that product that they need. That's your level ones. And so if you were to go to like a YMCA and they say we want NASM, you'll hear that a lot. We want our NASM certification Great, you got to go get that. If you come to show up fitness, you can have your NASM and 15 other certifications. You're not going to get hired Because I make the rules on who we hire at our gyms. You have to have your level one show up in the CBT and if you don't like that, I don't give a rat's ass. It's my gym, I make the rules.

Speaker 1: 12:14

So there's a lot of gyms out there that may have an affiliation. They could be partnered with them. Who knows? Nasm just partnered with Mindfuck, I mean Mindpump. Who knows what happened with that arrangement? But if you were to ask someone into that level, what's the best certification? What do you think Mindpump is going to say? Of course they're going to say NASA, that's what they're doing. As a very large company, they're able to get people to say that's what you want to get. That's the beauty of a free market. It's a game and you want to be known as the best. And how do you get known as the best? By producing the best product.

Speaker 2: 12:47

Perfect example of this is talking about the progressions and regression exercises within the OPT model versus the movement patterns that we use in the CCA to program and basing it off of the core movement patterns squat, unilateral, hinge, vertical push, vertical pull, horizontal push, horizontal pull versus having to memorize this huge OPT model with five different phases where you're having to memorize all of these progressions and regressions around stabilization, strength and power and trying to know the difference between the two, and they're playing around with BOSU balls and exercise balls and medicine ball throws.

Speaker 2: 13:28

If you don't have someone to teach you the movement patterns, like we do, how would you ever survive and thrive in that type of programming model? I see it all the time in the group People are like I don't understand this. All the time in the group People are like I don't understand this. And it's crazy because you know, when we're looking at the NASM curriculum, the OPT model is a prime key topic that you want to memorize because of you know the way that they take people through the overhead squat assessment into understanding if they have some sort of distortion syndrome and then plugging them into the OPT model to figure out what's going to get them the best results. It's just so confusing.

Speaker 1: 14:10

Yeah, and you don't get asked questions for that clarity. That's where we will give you a non-BS approach. It's like no one wants to get a hundred percent on this exam. I've never met a trainer like, oh my God, I got a hundred percent of my NASA, I'm the best. No, just pass it, get out there and do your shit. And how you get hired at gyms is a whole other conversation. We have podcasts on that. But ultimately, proctored, you go into a center. You're going to take the test.

Speaker 1: 14:36

If you fail it this is the most important question and maybe one of the biggest things to take away. Ask yourself, if you failed it, if you would have passed it, would you have felt confident and competent training people? And that's what's called the sunk cost fallacy, where I get people all the time. I got a 68, I got a 69, I'm going to go take it again. I say why? Well, because I feel like I wasted money. If you would have passed, would you be ready to train? No, that's why I wanted to get to level one. You don't need to pass that. It's like a gambler who lost $100,000 and he has 10,000 more. He's going to spend that last 10. Or an alcoholic they have six beers, they drink five of them. They're going to drink the last one, so why are you going to continue on and retake it?

Speaker 1: 15:21

And then another common thing that we hear is well, what material should we be learning from? And the biggest pushback I'm a dick. It's like you're the angel, I'm the devil. We have other people out there who will get you through this, because I don't like teaching this shit. I like teaching stuff that is current and actually helps people, and so people will push back. I can't believe you're telling your charlotte's and you don't want people to read the textbook. Well, the textbook sucks. If you look at the information, it is extremely outdated with the cross syndromes and the OPT model and stabilization, and so, like you were saying about the programming, if you were to have an intermediate client come in, do they teach you how to ask those questions to see if they can bench X amount or squat X amount, so you know a back squat's appropriate, or if it's going to be a goblet, or if it's going to be a deadlift. Should it be a trap bar? Should it be a conventional, or if it's going to be a goblet, or if it's going to be a deadlift, should it be a trap bar, should it be a conventional? Or if it's going to be a bench press or incline because of shoulder pain, they just give you a template that you're supposed to follow blindly no-transcript. But you're not going to see that stuff on the exam and so you're getting prepped and people will say, oh, I got a 50 on this section or in chapter three and I'm just like, don't worry about that, you're not going to be tested on.

Speaker 1: 16:43

Focus on the OPT model. Focus on the fundamentals. Focus team model. Focus on the fundamentals. Focus on overactive, underactive. That's the meat and potatoes.

Speaker 1: 16:50

When people fail, the first question I'll ask them all right, you're doing a chin-up, we'll play into motion Chin-up. That's on the ground, or is that in the air? Is it frontal? Like okay, we're not even confident in knowing a very, very simple question like that. So you don't know what you failed. But I bet you you missed a lot of very, very easy questions. When I say what plane of motion is chipping? Sagittal, next one, lateral, raise, frontal, chest, fly, transverse. You got to be able to hit it like that and if you can't, then you failed because you don't have the fundamentals covered. Planes of motion, agonist, synergist stabilizers.

Speaker 1: 17:31

Which of the following muscles is overactive? Your client's doing a squat. Their arms fall forward. Is it the teres minor? Latissimus dorsi, the VMO or the glutes? Nope, you aren't ready to take these in. You failed because you don't know it confidently. You got to know the overactive muscles, in that case the latissimus dorsi. That's why the arms are coming down in the sagittal plane. Your arm cannot get the full flexion. Therefore, the extensor is going to be the overactive or tight muscle. What do we want to do? You got a fucking foam roller. You're going to die. You got a foam roller and stretch that sucker for 30 seconds. Rotator cuff muscle. Time on that's wasted time. So don't go through all those fucking quizzes, don't go through the damn textbook. I get fired up on this stuff. As you can tell Ashley, I can be annoying. It's because we want to make a change and I see, unfortunately, too many people struggling with something that has literally nothing to do with your career.

Speaker 2: 18:29

I mean, I think the fear that people have, once they have paid for this and invested in this, is that if they don't get their NASM CPT, then they're a failure, they've wasted their money. But when you have the tools that you need, it's like you're not starting from zero, you're not starting from scratch. You're starting from experience that you actually did find the path that you need to go to, and it's knowing the true anatomy, knowing the trade skills and the business skills, knowing how to go sell personal training packages, knowing which gyms to start with and which gyms to approach later that fit your lifestyle. Do you want a garage gym? Do you want a home gym? Do you want to work in a big box gym? And those are the types of mentorship and internship and skills that we have and offer through Show Up Fitness that allows you to go be successful, which is what you already want. Don't be afraid of messing up. If you miss passing this exam by one point, it doesn't mean that you're not a good trainer or that you don't have what it takes you literally. Just you know it's the NASM exam. So you have to figure out okay, do I want to take this again or do I want to go learn the trade skills in eight weeks that's going to allow me to go get into the workplace and learn as you earn.

Speaker 2: 19:46

I tell people that all the time. Listen, like having taken the CNC and the CES and the balance training and the virtual coach and the CPT, now like I have all of those letters behind my name. But I learned how to build multiple streams of income through show up fitness. I learned how to make relationships with a physical therapist and a registered dietitian and have them on my team so that I can then create an additional stream of income while I'm training clients virtually and in the gym. It hasn't, doesn't really talk about that, but those certifications tell you about when you're outside of your scope of practice. So then you have to ask yourself why am I even taking this cert if almost everything we're talking about is outside of your scope of practice? And so you've said this before what's your opinion on having these people on your team and making that an extra stream of income versus? Travis was saying with Equinox, like comparing those.

Speaker 1: 20:45

Yeah, and that's exactly what I was having to call with on the prior. Actually, I'm going to put it out next, so I didn't want to have two lifetimes in a row. But the next one, after this one 102, will be with Lee. He's a manager at Lifetime in Northern Texas, dallas, and he was talking about how one of the dumbest things that you can do is get these specializations. He's like I don't care how much of a quote, unquote jack of all trades you are, do you have the people skills? Because if you're in an interview and you're regurgitating autogenic inhibition, this muscle's overactive, underactive. He's going to be like oh my God, no client's going to buy into that and you just scared someone away. Can you relate to someone? That's what I talked about today with my client. We talked about how he likes to smoke weed. That's what I talked about today with my client. We talked about how he likes to smoke weed. Are you going to learn that in the textbook? No, I find things that my clients like to talk about and we talk about it, and that's what you need to have are those people skills.

Speaker 1: 21:39

And I was having a lunch the other day with the prehab guys, our partners and their physical therapists. And I said out of curiosity, craig, how many of your clients have ever asked what your background is as a physical therapist? He went to USC, the number one physical therapist. He was like not once. They don't care, they come to me because they know me the best. I said that's the irony with training as well. Not once has a client ever asked me what my background is. And they won't. And if they do, it's because you're not confident. That's exactly why.

Speaker 1: 22:11

Imagine going to a doctor and the doc's like hmm, what's this little cutting, knife-y thing? I guess I'm going to use this on you. You're like whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on a sec, doc. Where the hell did you go to school? Where'd you learn this stuff? You don't have any whereabouts in the operating room. You're freaking me out right now. But when the doc comes in, how often do you say excuse me, doctor, can I look at your credentials? I want to see where you're at.

Speaker 1: 22:30

No, because they're confident, they're composed, they're looking out for your best interest for the most part, and they have that aura that they're the expert. And that's what you need. You need to take control of the assessment process, of the assessment process you need to be able to take them from point A to point Z. And if there are red flags, such as you're doing the blood pressure and it's 160 over 100, you go whoa, that's pretty high there. Let's take it again to make sure this isn't a bad reading. What's going on? That wasn't caffeine, because that doesn't have an impact on it. Sleep wood dehydration.

Speaker 1: 23:06

When was the last time you were the doctor? Oh, you haven't been in four years. Here's what my suggestion is let's go together and I'm going to take it as an opportunity to network with the doc, because I can help a lot of people lower their blood pressure appropriately. And guess what? I guarantee it that doctor's never seen a trainer in their room. And guess what doctors need? They need medical professionals. Because that's what we are Level one trainers. We're medical professionals. We can have conversations with them.

Speaker 1: 23:34

I did a great call with Travis and he went to a neurosurgeon for some issues that he has. Travis is our anatomy instructor and when he was on the chair, the neurosurgeon was like, oh, are you a med school student? Like where'd you go to school? And he says, no, I just teach anatomy. I was like what Did I teach trainers? Like holy shit, that's impressive. He got respect from a physician. Now tell me, how many trainers do you see out there networking with doctors and therapists and dietitians? And it's ironic. It's unfortunate that more times than enough, you see it in forums and Reddit and Facebook and they'll say things like well, doctors aren't good enough and they're misdiagnosing, they're prescribing Ozempic and therapists don't know what they're doing. Oh, but the trainer who read a book does. Wow, I'm really excited to work with you. Who taught you this stuff? Did you have conversations? Did you work through the problems? Can you even fucking say that word, sarcopenia? Can you even pronounce the sartorius, the vastus lateralis, gastrocnemius? No, you can't.

Speaker 1: 24:40

The takeaway from this if you got to this point, you stuck around with my harshness. I'm annoying. I get it Three older brothers, but that's the passion coming through my voice. I, I get it Three older brothers, but that's the passion coming through my voice. I want you to be successful. That's why I wrote a fucking book called how to Become a Successful Personal Trainer.

Speaker 1: 24:56

And the industry doesn't set you up for it and too many of y'all come in with a cool story. Maybe you had type 2 diabetes and you reversed it and you have some methodologies that worked for you. But when you learn the science and you can go out there and help guide people safely and you can help a ton of people. But you need to be able to show your value and if you can't convince someone why they should work with you, you're not going to make it. And then what you do is you leave and then you make fun of the industry and you say things like oh, it's so hard to be a trainer or do it as a side job. You can't make any money. Fuck you. Yes, you can. I always love asking people that push back and say you can't make money in this industry.

Speaker 1: 25:42

What's your certification? Every single time level zero. What internship did you do? Every single time, zero. What seminars did you go through? Who's on your team? What's the name of the physical therapist, registered dietitian and doctor who you work with? What? No one Exactly. So that individual failed. They weren't able to make it into a career.

Speaker 1: 26:05

Don't piss on the successful trainers because they did it a different way. Different doesn't mean it's wrong. Right now, if you were to ask 100 trainers what's the best certification to get, every fucking one would probably say NASA, ace, issa. Just like 100 years ago actually, yeah, about 115 years ago. What's the fastest car? Everyone's going to look at you and go what the fuck? What are you talking about? It's a horse. It's this horse over here. Well, no, I'm making a car. We have the Tesla truck.

Speaker 1: 26:37

When you see that, oh whoa, that's different I'm scared. So you want to pass this exam? Listen, that's the most important thing. Don't get caught up in all this clusterfuckery out there. Come on, really. I always say you need to look the part, talk the part and be able to have the proof in the pudding. Do you train people regularly? Are you training yourself? Do you have a trainer?

Speaker 1: 27:01

I'm not knocking these individuals. I'm saying you want to learn from someone who's going to get you to where you want to be, and a lot of these individuals on YouTube and so forth. They're trying to get a buy-in to their fucking NASM shit. There's a fucking guy I don't know his name, but don't get me started on these NASM guys. It feels like they're making love to both the balls and they're just doing foam roller shit and they have their own little schools with NASM stuff. It's like do you want to learn how to become a trainer or do you want to just learn this textbook, and if you want to learn that textbook, there's going to be people out there.

Speaker 1: 27:36

Let's have a conversation one year from now and let's just see where you're at, and I'd be more than happy to have a competition. Let's take 100 NASM trainers. Let's take 100 show up fitness trainers. We'll see where we're at in a year. I will bet you my biggest belt buckle because I got a lot of them that show up trainers will absolutely fucking blow them apart and, most importantly, they're going to be training a year from now. So what's your one piece of advice for where people are at right now to get through this NASM exam? You can't get a refund. They need to get through it, whether if it's a proctor and if you have the proctor, don't get the non-proctor If you have the non-proctor, don't get the proctor. Whatever one you have, if you can't get a refund, stick through it.

Speaker 2: 28:15

Well, obviously I meet a lot of people who are asking for more help because they know when they start reading chapter one, by the time they get to chapter five, chapter six, they're like I have no idea how to get through this and I've forgotten everything that I learned before. So how am I going to get through? You know 20 plus chapters of this and know everything I need to know. So get a tutor, get the level zero program. We help people pass NASM in 30 days or less and then get into the level one for show up fitness. That is going to prepare you for the industry and if you love it, you won't give up on it.

Speaker 2: 28:48

Because anatomy obviously can feel like a foreign language. Learning this stuff for the first time can feel foreign to you, but you have to be the kind of person that loves it so much that you're going to learn it for fun, not just because you have a proctored test in front of you. I always loved the fact that when it felt like a foreign language to me and sometimes it does I mean I'm always in awe of you. Know, you and Travis and Katie and Josh and the other show up fitness instructors here because the knowledge is so vast, but you've always shown me that hard work and dedication and being committed to the process is valuable in and of itself and you find your way then, because you start to learn your skill set and what you can bring to the table and why you're even in this and why you want to do it.

Speaker 2: 29:38

So get some help. You know, learn the key topics that you need to pass. Pass it quickly. Don't take six plus months to pass this thing like. Pass it fast so you can get to truly what you were meant to do in the industry, which can look a little different for every person. But you have to learn anatomy, you have to learn how to program, you have to learn the business and trade skills and the people skills, and I haven't found a better place to do it other than show up fitness.

Speaker 1: 30:09

Just talked to a girl over the weekend. She failed twice and she was on the verge of almost like tears and I've actually worked with people in Miami, Remember it was. It was heartbreaking. There was a girl in class and she broke out in tears. I grew up with brothers, so she's crying. I'm like, ah, fuck, what do I do?

Speaker 2: 30:24

Like ah, my hands are up.

Speaker 1: 30:26

I'm like I don't know what to do, emotions. And then I remember it was Indy. She came over there and gave her a hug and she's just like I really want to do this, but I'm a failure. And so the same happened with this girl, and I think she got the guide in the class last Tuesday. She passed it on Saturday and she's like I'm flying out to Sacramento, I'm going to this seminar May 18th and 19th.

Speaker 1: 30:50

I've already learned more in this first week on the online level one than anything else. I'm so excited because I know if it's too good to be true, then what do they say and this is what I'm going to leave everyone with is this thought experiment? So I want you to go out there and not mention any words, associations, just a giant buff dude with the big nose and the belt buckle said this no, I want you to go ask people who you know do you know what it takes to become a personal trainer? And your homework here is to find someone who says, no, I don't. So then what you're going to do is say okay, let's have this little thought experiment, and I want you to pretend like you are now the director of personal training for the United States. How would you certify trainers? What would that process look like? And any logical person, you included, they're going to say well, probably need to go through school, you need to learn this, you need to learn that. And then ask them how long do you think that would take? I don't know, maybe a year, maybe some type of trade program, or maybe 18 months, x amount of hours Great. What if I were to tell you that the average trainer studies a textbook for six months without any supervision, without showcasing how to move properly, regress or progress or communicate this with anyone, and they go into a fucking room and they answer a bunch of multiple choice questions on a screen? What if I were to tell you that's the process to become a trainer? And they would go holy shit.

Speaker 1: 32:22

And why does show up fitness have such a high success rate when it comes to our assessments? Because we educate our clients. When they come in the very first thing, I say welcome to show up fitness. How did you hear about us? And then I take them through. Did you know what the average trainer does? They read a textbook. They're level zero trainers. They don't understand anatomy. They don't have a team of doctors, physical therapists, registered physicians like we do.

Speaker 1: 32:46

If anything ever comes up, I will make that referral to you, to them, for you, because I'm looking out for your best interests. Take me through your goals. What do you want to achieve? And every time they go holy shit, I didn't realize it was that easy. I say exactly. But you're working with qualified trainers that got to the best internship in the world. You are in great hands.

Speaker 1: 33:05

And then when we present the prices, which are more expensive than Equinox and if you're not familiar with Equinox charges, go there and find out. But our gyms charge more than Equinox Our clients don't blink. Here's your credit card, here's 100 sessions. That's what it's like to help people and to pursue your passion and to do it with a sustainable income. And we're really excited to help you all pass this.

Speaker 1: 33:31

If you have any questions, reach out. You can always reach out to me. If my personality bugs you, that's fine. Reach out to Ashley. She's the mom, she's the nationally. She will take care of you and give you all the words of wisdom and make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. If you want to take this Thursday, she teaches, calls 10 o'clock. You can answer any questions If you ask me.

Speaker 1: 33:51

Don't get offended when I say don't fucking read that stupid, don't read that chapter, don't read any of it. We've helped numerous people pass without even the textbook, without the quizzes, and I did a fun little experiment with a girl about three years ago still the seventh edition and I said here's what I'm willing to do. I'm going to pay for the exam for you and I want you to go take it and just use this guide and see if you can pass it. She used the guide and she passed it and I said great, you are now a certified trainer. Guess what? You are more qualified in the eyes of the average person to work with people than me. How does that make you feel? I said holy shit, that's scary. I said that's all the shit you see on Instagram. When people say they're I'm a CES, pes, all that shows me is that you are not confident in your skills because I'm a trainer.

Speaker 1: 34:37

Ashley's a trainer. Great, personal trainers are exactly that. They're trainers. We don't need to get all hyped up on these crazy acronyms. We're're trainers. We don't need to get all hyphied up on these crazy acronyms. We're all trainers. We're here to help people and that's what we're doing. So any last words? Ashley, thank you for your time today.

Speaker 2: 34:53

Thank you, I'm just honored. I'm honored to be a part of the team and I'm excited to continue helping people see the difference between these textbook certs and making this an actual career.

Speaker 1: 35:07

So thanks, it's awesome. Most importantly, big biceps are better than smaller ones and keep showing up.